MASSIVE NEW JOINT REGISTRY ANNOUNCED (Orthopedics This Week)
Incredibly Comprehensive Total Joint Registry Consortium
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts are working on what is likely the most comprehensive effort to date to develop and implement a total joint research registry. This project—Function and Outcomes Research for Comparative Effectiveness in Total Joint Replacement (FORCE-TJR)—is a national consortium of hospitals focused on studying best practices. At the helm is David Ayers, M.D., Chair of the Department of Orthopedics and Physical Rehabilitation and director of the Musculoskeletal Center of Excellence at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Dr. Ayers tells OTW, “FORCE-TJR was initiated when we received a $12 million grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. This research registry is more in depth than other registries, and includes a patient’s complete operative record, adverse events, and surgeon and institutional characteristics, among other variables. At this point we have collected patient reported pre-and postop outcomes from nearly 40,000 TJR patients via 130 orthopedic surgeons—and there is a waiting list of surgeons who want to join. A big differentiator is that these surgeons represent all regions of the U.S. in varied hospital and surgeon practice settings (e.g., urban/rural, low and high volume). With such immense diversity we will certainly have data that is representative of typical clinical practice—not just the experience of academic centers.”
“For the first time ever we are able to statistically identify the point at which most patients and surgeons come together to decide to proceed with a total knee or hip replacement. This is a real coup and will allow us to establish and utilize national benchmarks that patients and surgeons can use in shared decision-making. As for researchers, investigators worldwide will be able to collaborate with the registry in order to further academic-private partnerships to expand the research scope.”